Front Page Fort Collins is the third largest city in Colorado and a great place to ride bikes with vistas that go on forever,  long rolling routes through wide open farm and pasture lands,  punishing climbers for the masochistic, and drivers who mean you no particular harm… well, most of them don't.

If you are looking for information on ITM Selego Trekking handlebars, I'll make this brief: I have them on two bikes, I won't ride more than 5 miles without them, and I bought mine at Wallingford Bike Parts, who I highly recommend.

That which is lurking downpage:

Keyed-Alike Locks

Trek 7.5FX Commuter

Specialized Globe City6 IG8 w/Burley Flatbed

Trek 7.6FX Road Bike

What I want in my next commuter bag

 

Buttons Wed 3-Dec-2008 I had some custom bike buttons made up just for grins. There are two of them: "I Like Bikes" and "One Less Car" (I couldn't get the glare off this snap).

I gave some away at work, which leaves me with about 80 left over. Maybe I'll give the rest away during next summer's Bike to Work Week.

I've become a bit obsessive about the simple "I Like Bikes" graphic and made it into a coffee mug:

This is a decent mug, but I wanted something a little cooler so I have some old style diner logo mugs on order. They required a minimum quantity order so I'm not sure what the heck to do with the extras. But it's all just for fun so I'm sure I can find people to give them to.

 

Keyed Alike Locks Wed 3-Dec-2008 Keyed-Alike is simply the coolest thing. It means one key works all the keyed alike locks. I bought three Kryptonite Evolution Mini locks (two long shank and one regular) so now I only have to carry one key and each bike has its' own lock.

Plus they each came with three keys so I now have a ton-o-keys.

I also have six paddle locks keyed-alike which I use on my work locker, my bike trailer and box, and a just-in-case lock for my commuter bike. You wish you were me.

 

Utility Cycling Sun 12-Oct-2008

I ride bikes for fun, so I have fun commuting to work and running errands around town and call it utility cycling. Here's my commuter - 2007 Trek 7.5FX.

Trek 7.5FX (2007) Commuter

Stock Shimano Deore front der, Shimano Tiagra rear der, Shimano M443 48/36/26 crank. Plus Schwalbe 700x35 Marathon Plus tires, Bontrager fenders, ESGE/Pletscher Double-legged kickstand (not that great), Shimano A530 SPD pedals, and Tubus Logo rack (nice).

Here's the cockpit featuring ITM-Selego Trekking handlebars, Evo-Lite mirror, stock Shimano Deore shifters, NiteRider Mi-Newt X2 light (very nice!), Planet Bike 1W Blaze for backup, and Velo-Orange Elkhide bar covers.

Trek 7.5FX Front

From the back, there's a Brooks B17 Champion saddle, Carradice Barley saddlebag, Velo-Orange ViVa bag support, and Planet Bike Superflash Stealth blinky. The yellow bit below the bag is an Onguard mini u-lock which hooks onto Tubus Logo rack like they were made for each other. (Later: Except I don't use it anymore -- replaced by a Kryptonite Evolution Mini-LS which rides under the bag and wedged nicely in the bag support. I got three of them, all keyed alike!!)

Trek 7.5FX Back

I carry my laptop and office clothes in an Arkel Commuter with which I have a love-hate relationship. On the other side, I normally mount a Carradice Shopper.

When I need to make a big Wal-Mart grocery run I use this rig:

Specialized Globe 6 IG8 w/Burley Trailer

Specialized Globe City 6 IG8 and Burley Flatbed trailer. I made some changes since I took this picture with a new Brooks Flyer saddle, Acorn Small Saddlebag (very nice!), and a 35 gal Rubbermaid Action Packer for the trailer (the one pictured is the 28 gal) which rides well, is lockable and holds a ton-o-stuff.

And when I'm not having fun riding to work or hauling groceries, I'm having fun riding my 7.6FX.

Trek 7.6FX

Stock Shimano 105 rear der, Shimano R440 front der, and Bontrager 50/36 compact crank with Shimano 12-27 cassette. Plus Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheelset (so very nice!), Conti GP400S 700x23c's, and Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals.

Trek 7.6FX Front

No commuting gear here, just another set of ITM Selego Trekking bars wrapped with Brooks tape. The shifters are stock Shimano R440's.

Trek 7.6FX Back

Back here is a Brooks B17 saddle and Acorn Two Strap roll bag (outstanding!).

 

I want a new bag Sat 25-Oct-2008
Arkel Commuter

I mentioned below (above?) that I have a love-hate relationship with my Arkel Commuter bag. I was thinking about detailing what I like and what I don't like about the bag I depend on for my commute, but decided instead, to describe a bag I would like more.

My commuter bag has to carry my laptop a couple times a week and it needs to carry my office incidentals (phone, badge, adaptors, broadband modem etc) every trip. It needs to carry my office clothes every trip and occasionally a pair of shoes. And in the afternoon there has to be room to carry any of the cold weather riding gear I don't need for the trip home. Sometimes I need to pack with an Eagle Creek folder but if I need to wear a suit I'll drive to work that day.

The bag needs some quick access pockets for my office id, locker room lock, and a place to stash my light and any other expensive bike gear I need to take inside with me.

I pack in the morning, ride to work, stop at the locker room to change from riding gear to office clothes and then carry the bag to my office and unload the computer/gear I'll be using during the day. In the evening the process is reversed.

I sometimes stop at a store on the way home and I detach the bag and take it with me. I've never needed access to the main compartment in the middle of a commute.

So my next bag needs to have two main sections. One to carry and protect my laptop and other techno bits, and one to carry my clothes. Both compartments need to be large enough to handle the volume, but also be out of the way when not fully loaded (I'm not sure what the term is.. collapsible?, perhapsible). Separate compartments, accessed separately, one side computer one side suitcase.

Yes, suitcase. I don't want another "bag" where everything is loaded from the top.

I want a square, zip fully open compartment just like a suitcase, with compression straps to hold the clothes in place. I want the computer part to be top loading, just like my Brenthaven laptop case. I want the darn thing to stand up when I set it down - NOT flop over like a bag. I don't care if it tends to tip when overloaded to one side, I just want to know which way it will tip so I can lean it against something.

I want a simple pannier hook system - one where I can hang the bag on my rack, and then secure it one handed while holding up the bike. I don't care if it takes a couple of steps to hook-secure, just so long as they are extremely simple. I need to be able to dismount the bag with freezing cold numb hands. I don't want the bag to extend much above the hooks. (The Arkel system is secure, but it's just too complex for day in-day out use. It dismounts with one hand, but it requires two hands to mount and some maneuvering).

And I want it made out of waterproof cotton duck. It needs to be able to handle a 30-40 minute shower (like the Arkel) but I don't need to take it kayaking (nothing plastic coated).

I would be willing to pay up to two, maybe three hundred US dollars. If you produce a bag like that I'd bet it would make you rich.